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INTRODUCTION

Ask people around the country what they think of when they think of Baltimore and you might hear something about baseball or Johns Hopkins or something else positive, but there’s a decent chance that what you’ll hear won’t be so great. The national image of Baltimore has taken a hit, thanks to popular shows like The Wire, a show focusing on Baltimore’s drug underworld. Yes, there are problems here; The Wire isn’t pure fiction. But those who know this city intimately know there is so much more (after all, the creator of The Wire still chooses to live here). In fact, this duality is one of the things that makes Baltimore such a distinctive place. So often it has been the case that when playing unofficial tour guide to out-of-town visitors, I hear them frequently remark with admiration, “I had no idea,” when I point out some piece of history or take them to a great neighborhood far off the beaten path. This is a city that constantly surprises and a city that has it all: terrific cultural institutions, wonderful bars and restaurants, and more recreation and green space than most people realize. There is a reason the colonial settlers built a town here: Baltimore enjoys a special geographic spot, sandwiched between the Alleghenies to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east and sitting atop the country’s largest estuary. It enjoys four seasons, moderate temperature, and quick and easy access to all the things that make living in the Mid-Atlantic such a pleasure. It’s not for nothing that Baltimore and its environs have been called The Land of Pleasant Living. So let others cling to a one-sided or negative view. Let them reduce this great city to what they see on TV. We lucky ones can see all the things that make Baltimore one of the world’s great places.